Bug's Prayer
Lord, we are the nation! We celebrate our birthday on July 4th, 1776, with the Declaration of
Independence as our birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in our veins because we
offer freedom and liberty to all whom are oppressed. We are many things and many people. We
are the nation.
We sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to Alaska and Hawaii. three million square miles
throbbing with industry and with life. We are the forest, field, mountain and desert. We are the
wheat fields of Kansas, the granite hills of Vermont, and the snow capped peaks of the Sierra
Nevada. We are the Brooklyn Bridge, we are the grain elevators in the farm belt, we are the
Golden Gate. We are the nation.
We are 213 million living souls, and yet we are the ghosts of millions who have lived and died for
us. We are Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. We are Washington, Jefferson and Patrick Henry. We
are Lee, Grant, Abe Lincoln and George Bush. We are the famous and the unknown. We are
presidents, we are paupers. We are the nation.
We stood at Lexington and fired the shot heard around the world. We remember the Alamo, the
Maine, Pearl Harbor, Inchon and the Persian Gulf. When freedom calls, we answer. We left our
heroic dead at Belleau Wood, on the rock of Corregidor, on the bleak slopes of Korea, in the
steaming jungles of Vietnam and under the rubble of Beirut. We are the nation.
We are schools and colleges, churches and synagogues. We are a ballot dropped in a box, the
harmonious voice of a choir in a cathedral, the crack of a bat and the roar of a crowd in a stadium.
We are craftsmen, teachers, businessmen, and judges. We are laborers and nurses. We are
parents and we are children. We are soldiers, sailors and airmen. We are peaceful villages, small
towns and cities that never sleep. Yes, we are the nation, and these are the things that we are.
We were conceived in freedom, and dear God, if you are willing, in freedom we will spend the rest
of our days. May we always be thankful for the blessings you have bestowed upon us. May we be
humble to the less fortunate and assist those in need. May we never forget the continuing cost of
freedom. May we always remember that if we are to remain the land of the free, we must continue
always to be the home of the brave. May our wishbone never be found where our backbone should
be. May we possess always, the integrity, the courage and the strength to keep ourselves
unshackled, to remain always a citadel of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world.
We are the nation.....this is our wish...this is our hope and this is our prayer...Amen
Commander
John "Bug" Roach
United States Navy
1944-1991
Reprinted from Tailhook Magazine in honor of a patriot and Naval Aviator.
Lord, we are the nation! We celebrate our birthday on July 4th, 1776, with the Declaration of
Independence as our birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in our veins because we
offer freedom and liberty to all whom are oppressed. We are many things and many people. We
are the nation.
We sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to Alaska and Hawaii. three million square miles
throbbing with industry and with life. We are the forest, field, mountain and desert. We are the
wheat fields of Kansas, the granite hills of Vermont, and the snow capped peaks of the Sierra
Nevada. We are the Brooklyn Bridge, we are the grain elevators in the farm belt, we are the
Golden Gate. We are the nation.
We are 213 million living souls, and yet we are the ghosts of millions who have lived and died for
us. We are Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. We are Washington, Jefferson and Patrick Henry. We
are Lee, Grant, Abe Lincoln and George Bush. We are the famous and the unknown. We are
presidents, we are paupers. We are the nation.
We stood at Lexington and fired the shot heard around the world. We remember the Alamo, the
Maine, Pearl Harbor, Inchon and the Persian Gulf. When freedom calls, we answer. We left our
heroic dead at Belleau Wood, on the rock of Corregidor, on the bleak slopes of Korea, in the
steaming jungles of Vietnam and under the rubble of Beirut. We are the nation.
We are schools and colleges, churches and synagogues. We are a ballot dropped in a box, the
harmonious voice of a choir in a cathedral, the crack of a bat and the roar of a crowd in a stadium.
We are craftsmen, teachers, businessmen, and judges. We are laborers and nurses. We are
parents and we are children. We are soldiers, sailors and airmen. We are peaceful villages, small
towns and cities that never sleep. Yes, we are the nation, and these are the things that we are.
We were conceived in freedom, and dear God, if you are willing, in freedom we will spend the rest
of our days. May we always be thankful for the blessings you have bestowed upon us. May we be
humble to the less fortunate and assist those in need. May we never forget the continuing cost of
freedom. May we always remember that if we are to remain the land of the free, we must continue
always to be the home of the brave. May our wishbone never be found where our backbone should
be. May we possess always, the integrity, the courage and the strength to keep ourselves
unshackled, to remain always a citadel of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world.
We are the nation.....this is our wish...this is our hope and this is our prayer...Amen
Commander
John "Bug" Roach
United States Navy
1944-1991
Reprinted from Tailhook Magazine in honor of a patriot and Naval Aviator.